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View the bottom of the post, if it's too long for you for the summary.OK. I usually have a routine of things I do before going to sleep, although it is a bit different when I am at home from college, where I usually get back into my dorm after getting dinner, take a shower, brush my teeth, read a book or do homework or listen to music, and then go to sleep. If I can't sleep, then I will usually get up and go walking around campus and listen to music at night. In Memphis. People say it's dangerous, and there are some crimes that happen every month some-what around the campus area, but rarely ON campus, and I honestly feel safer walking around campus at night, than the country. Partially because there's almost always a cop patrolling campus and there are emergency alarm buttons placed all over campus. Then I go back to my dorm after an hour or two, go to sleep, and adjust my wake-up time and schedule accordingly, and maybe even take a nap the next day, if I have to, and it works fine, so far.

At home, preferably, I take my shower by 9:00 PM, then I take a pain reliever so my arms and collar won't bother me too much, I get a cup of cereal, then brush my teeth, I tell my dad and baby sister I'm going to bed and turn my lights out, but at minimum, I spend the first hour, if not 2-4 hours (, trying to cool down my room so I can comfortably sleep under the covers (it's a comfort thing), listening to music and/or viewing pornography (not that I like the fact that I view it and I sometimes find it boring or just gross) just to calm myself down and take my mind off the day and where I currently am and to let my imagination flow. I believe this helps me sleep. After all of this are done, and most of my requirements are met, I usually go off to a deep, easy, sound sleep sometime between 2:00 AM and 6:00 AM for 6-8 hours. To me, this is efficient, because I get a decent amount of time to myself during the time everyone is (or should be) asleep, I sleep during the part of the day when not much of anything is going on, and I am awake and have most of my energy during the time of the day when I am needed the most and most likely to assist or do chores or get asked favors or get dragged along for some lengthy trip.

But then, my dad tried "helping me" get my sleep schedule "straight" before going back by waking me up at 10 AM, and then 9 AM. So I've tried adjusting by racing to get my shower done by at least 10 PM, be in bed by at least 11 PM, and be asleep by at least Midnight, but this doesn't work for me, unless I take at least one hour to listen to music or play games or view porn or something to relax my mind and set it free. Most times instead, I try to rush to sleep while still frustrated and annoyed with the day as soon as I am finished with the bare essentials (shower, teeth brushing, etc.).

The result is me laying flat in, and constantly squirming in, my bed, uncomfortable, trying to wait for myself to go to sleep (instead of thinking about my fantasies and story ideas) while thinking about how I need to get up as early as possible to have time to myself AND get decent 6-hour sleep (which only leaves me feeling tired mid-day), and constantly looking at my clock in frustration, and continuously setting the alarm back until I finally fall asleep by 4:00 AM: The time I would normally be asleep if I would have just stayed up and played.

Sometimes, however, I fall asleep fast, but I have a short, light sleep with a light dream. It doesn't feel like I'm in the dream, but instead, it feels like I'm watching a movie on a movie screen in the back of my eyelids, and I usually wake up after 2-4 hours when something like temperature or hunger wakes me up and keeps me awake.

TL;DR: What is this light, short, frustrating-feeling dream and sleep that only lasts for 2-4 hours? I never feel well rested after it, but I also can't go back to sleep after it.View Thread

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